Studying a big river: UI research station opens on the Mississippi

Craig Just (right), senior research assistant in civil and environmental engineering, demonstrates how to use the Van Dorn water sampler to engineering graduate student Nathan Young. Students enrolled in a summer course on water quality lowered the apparatus into the Mississippi River near the University’s Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station to secure water samples for a chemistry lab. Photo by Tim Schoon.

This summer Tatsuaki Nakato saw a dream come to fruition.

That dream is a simple, one-story building alongside the Mississippi River near Muscatine. Inside, however, lies the potential to bridge a lifetime of communication gaps regarding the nation's most fabled river.

As home to the University's new Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (MRERS), the 7,500-square-foot building—dedicated May 3 as the Lucille A. Carver River Research and Education Facility-will bring together for the first time hydraulics experts, biologists, geologists, and other environmental scientists, as well as students in those disciplines, for critical collaborative research, says Nakato, research engineer scientist at IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering (formerly the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research) and director of MRERS.

"One thing we've lacked in river research is communication between scientists in related disciplines and state and federal regulatory agencies," he explains. "They've always done things for their own purposes. Now it is time for all of us to sit down with a big map and decide how the natural river condition should be preserved."

The concept of a University-based river research station occurred to Nakato seven years ago as he floated along the Mississippi in a johnboat with a group of colleagues hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess the causes of bank erosion along 848 miles of the Upper Mississippi River-between St. Paul, Minn., and Cairo, Ill.

"We struggled to isolate one natural force from the others. We had only a month and a half, and we weren't able to determine what was causing problems."

Estimating that researchers would need at least 10 to 15 years to observe the river, Nakato set out to establish a field station. His vision became a reality with a $1.2 million gift from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine and the transfer of three acres of state land adjacent to a fish hatchery operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. In addition to the state-of-the-art laboratory space, the facility houses a classroom, offices, and a public display area.

Soil erosion, sedimentation, water quality, and changing fish habitats are just a few areas of concern for researchers at IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering. They plan to use the facility, which will be linked to IIHR through a high-speed communications network, to monitor the river over a period of time and to host multidis- ciplinary conferences and workshops where experts can meet to discuss issues related to river ecosystems.

"The Mississippi River affects all of us, and as long as humans exist, we will need to study it," Nakato says. "Sedimentation, for example, means that barges cannot get through and that means commodities can't travel down the river. If that happens, you'll see the price of breakfast cereals, or fuel, go up. Bank erosion is another major concern. It affects water quality, and millions of people drink water from the Mississippi River."

Craig Just, senior research assistant in civil and environmental engineering, adds that new issues are emerging. Substances ranging from caffeine and ibuprofen to farm chemicals and endocrine disruptors are being detected more frequently in surface waters, potentially affecting fish populations.

"The concentration of such compounds in the water-even at a few parts per billion-might be considered safe for humans, but those levels might not necessarily be safe for fish," he says. "The Mississippi River is fascinating, but the effect of human activities on the river ecosystem should be carefully monitored."

A primary benefit of having a university-based riverside research station-MRERS is the first in the nation-is that students will have an opportunity to gain hands-on field experience, Nakato says.

"It is extremely important to tie research activities with students, letting young generations understand the importance of large river ecosystems and focus on preserving harmonious river ecology," he says. "Furthermore, information we collect is unbiased and public and can be used by any organization in the world."

The first class to use the facility-a new, three-week course on water quality taught by Jerry Schnoor, professor of civil and environmental engineering-wrapped up in June. Just assisted the 14 students, who traveled to the facility three times a week, in conducting a chemistry lab for the course. They learned how to measure and monitor a number of water characteristics including hardness, oxygen saturation, nitrate and nitrite levels, and temperature. Over time, Just says, University researchers and colleagues will be able to see trends in the health of the river.

Collaboration with outside agencies already is in the works. Iowa engineers plan to team up with biologists at the fish hatchery to map flow fields in fish and mussel habitats and work with staff at the National River Museum in Dubuque to create computer simulations that teach children about river ecosystems. The Audubon Society, which has a biologist studying red-winged hawks along the Upper Mississippi River, will train MRERS staff to observe and record migration patterns.

In the facility's short existence, Nakato says he has learned a lot. The proximity to other scientists-in return for the use of the land, the DNR will have an office area inside the building-has been valuable, he says.

"In-kind collaboration has been one of the best benefits so far," says Nakato, who commutes each day from Iowa City. "Having a DNR biologist on site, I have acquired a lot of knowledge on a variety of species. The DNR, in turn, will learn from us about the river habitat and how it was created."

Article by Sara Epstein